Given the BinarySearchTree and Node classes (partially shown below), select an expression to complete the recursive method smallest in the Node class.The method returns the smallest data value in the binary search tree rooted at a node.
A)right.smallest()
B)left.smallest()
C)Math.min(left.smallest(), right.smallest())
D)data.smallest()

Question

Given the BinarySearchTree and Node classes (partially shown below), select an expression to complete the recursive method smallest in the Node class.The method returns the smallest data value in the binary search tree rooted at a node.  
A)right.smallest() 
B)left.smallest() 
C)Math.min(left.smallest(), right.smallest()) 
D)data.smallest()

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Since the binary search tree follows the property of having smaller values on the left subtree and larger values on the right subtree, the smallest value will always be located in the leftmost subtree. Therefore, the correct expression to return the smallest value is to recursively call the smallest method on the left Node object, which is represented by the expression 'left.smallest()'.

Given the BinarySearchTree and Node Classes (Partially Shown Below), Select